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Article to Read: Character Development
September 15th, 2008 | 
Author: I read a great article, The Story Crucible, on character development in fiction writing. The author, Camy Tang, blogs here and here.
According to Camy, the crucible is that thing that keeps our main character in trouble. The crucible is the main reason why characters make certain choices throughout the story. In a sense, I guess it’s like the overall motivation behind the character, but it’s a motivation the character can’t control. (Bet that made a lot of sense, huh? Camy explains it a lot better with her examples!)
After reading the article, I realized I need to work on developing my characters’ “crucible” a little better and making sure they are clearly defined. I’ll post an update on my writing progress tomorrow!
Related posts:
Posted in novel progress
I’m glad the article was helpful! Thanks for mentioning it!
Camy
I’ve seen the “crucible” more often referred to in regards to interpersonal conflicts… like: “why are they fighting if they can just leave each other alone”. And the crucible is the thing that ties them together so they can keep fighting (aka story keep moving).
I see the crucible as the reason the character can’t just quit. It can be that the desire is that strong or it can be forces outside of themselves forbid backsliding. Ideally it would be a progression throughout the story leading to both.
Anyhow, thanks for the link.